Bitter Orange

[WARNING: MATURE CONTENT] Being the third party in a relationship cuts deeper than any blade ever could. I watch him glorify her, obsess over her, pour every ounce of his devotion into someone who will never be his wife. The bitter irony tastes like poison on my tongue. I deserve that consuming passion, that unwavering dedication. After all, I'm the one who wears his ring, bears his name, shares his bed. Yet when he looks at me, there's nothing. Just cold, empty indifference. "You are nobody to me." His words echo through my memory like a death knell. "It's impossible for me to care about you. The only person I want isn't here because of you." The marriage was nothing more than a business transaction. I realized this truth far too late.

Everyone in the city knows Nathan Cooper only agreed to marry me because he had no choice. No matter how many times I tried to seduce him over the past seven years, he would just run his fingers over his rosary beads. Never once had he shown a trace of desire in his eyes. It isn't until that night, when I see him answer a long-distance call from his first love. Upon hearing her voice, Nathan loses control. It's as if heat was surging through his body like a live wire. The next day, Lily Hunt flies back. Nathan shoves me out of the car and drives off to pick her up. As I fall from the bridge and lose my memory, news of Nathan's proposal to his beloved sets the whole city ablaze. The next day, he shows up late to the hospital. As Nathan stands by my bedside, he says he will marry me, but only if he can hold a wedding ceremony with Lily. Then, he announces the wedding date. I lean against his bitter enemy, Luke Patton, and look at Nathan in confusion. "Sorry, who are you?"

When a messy struggling downtown girl decides to take a heist with her "best friend", things turn sour when she's the only one who gets caught for stealing the billionaire's money. And his heart of stone. Two things: Don't be so quick to trust, and don't get caught. But Kiara fails horribly at both. So when financial struggles push Kal and herself into taking the easy way out, she unfortunately finds herself in the house of the biggest billionaire in the city, and is labeled a thief. Or a maid, whichever. At the end of the day, it's just a contract to save her reputation, but it's more than that to Mike. Her charms are bitter and so are his, but the combination happens to taste like Honey Caramel.

While vacationing in Greece, Ava never expected to have a steamy fling with a handsome stranger named Grayson. But fate has other plans, as she finds herself face to face with him again in a small Midwestern town. And to her surprise, Grayson discovers that Ava has given birth to a son who shares a unique crescent moon birthmark on his wrist, just like Grayson. At thirty-eight, Ava had given up hope of finding the right man to have a child with. But now, she's faced with the challenge of raising her son alone, while also dealing with the pack law that demands Grayson to marry her and turn her into a werewolf to keep their secret safe. After a bitter divorce from a controlling ex-husband, Ava is not sure she wants to give up her freedom to another man. But Grayson is more than just a man, he's a werewolf who tempts her to surrender her heart. Can Ava overcome her fear of losing control and trust Grayson enough to give their love a chance? Or will she let her past dictate her future and risk losing the man she's come to love?

“She-wolf, you will pay for your sins and that of your father….” the golden–orange colour of his eyes forcefully shone, causing her to shut her own eyes. “I possess you. You will be my slave. My sex toy. My slave mate.” his fangs clashed against each other, causing excessive sweat all over her. ••••• In a world where the Mafia werewolves rule the non-mafia werewolves, the Alpha King dies mysteriously, and the Alpha Don insists on finding the source of his death. He came to realize that the culprit didn't just kill the Alpha King but took over his throne, so he sent tens of warnings—asking him to step down from the throne. The culprit, thinking that he has it all and can overpower the Alpha Don, decides to challenge, thereby setting fire to the Mafia's Villa, which took away the life of the Don's wife. Don Dante, being infuriated, brought an end to the life of this culprit and took over the throne himself. As the corpse of the murdered Alpha King is still missing, Don Dante loses his daughter and only family left behind in a plane crash which was plotted by the daughter of the culprit as revenge for her father's death. He captured and enslaved her. She must pay for her sins and that of her father. ☆THE REVENGE COLLECTION, BOOK 2 (Captured And Enslaved By The Mafia Alpha)

At the dinner table, my wife's best friend suddenly speaks to her in Lytian. "Three years ago, you married Julian in a grand wedding just to help Jace get Julian's letter of forgiveness. Over the years, I've seen Julian fall more and more deeply in love with you. Yet, you're still lying to him. "You gave him sterilization pills but passed them off as his depression medication. Aren't you afraid that he'll fall apart if he finds out the truth?" My wife, Erica Inman, briefly shows a conflicted expression on her face. She then gives a bitter smile and says, "A child unwanted by their mother has no reason to be born. As long as Julian doesn't stand in the way of Jace's happiness, I will keep my promise and stay by his side for the rest of his life." No one knows that I've learned Lytian to keep up with Erica. I stand in the living room and look at the fresh kiss mark on my neck. As I glance at the medication I take regularly for my depression, my whole body turns cold. It turns out that all of Erica's affection toward me was fake. What I thought was my salvation turns out to be nothing but a carefully planned deception. Since that's the case, I'll do my part to make sure they all get what they want.

“Damian, you ever wondered why I didn’t want to marry you when you proposed?” In front of prison, Catherine suddenly smiles, only it’s bitter than ever, “You chose HER over me once, and I had sworn to never allow you to do that again.” Damian opens his eyes in shock. “But then I married you. You said you were over her, and you kept choosing her over me, over and over and over again, showing me that I would always be the third wheel in my own marriage. Every time I compromise, you would only prove again that she weighs the most in your heart, more than anyone.” “Catherine--” “You can choose her over me as much as you want from now on,” Catherine’s curvy eyes are so gentle and bright, yet it hurts Damian’s heart more than any weapon in the world, “but today, THIS, is the last time I’m gonna care about it.” “Goodbye, Mr. Moore.”

My mate, Alpha Alex, had a wolf cursed at birth by a witch—unable to catch the scent of any she-wolf, doomed never to find his true mate. He spent five long years searching for her, only to be met with nothing but disappointment. In the end, broken and exhausted, he gave up. That was when he claimed me. On the night of our bonding, he told me the truth. "Fiona," he said quietly, "I had no choice. If the pack knew their Alpha couldn't even find his true mate, I'd become a disgrace in their eyes. So I chose you. You are my selected mate—but I swear, no one will ever take your title. You are my Luna. Even if I one day find my true mate… that will never change." But then he added, his voice distant and heavy: "Even though I'm cursed… I must still try to find her. I need to search every corner of the pack." From that night onward, she-wolves began appearing at our den one after another—every day, without fail. Some were shy, some bold. Some came bearing gifts, others with longing in their eyes. But all of them came for one reason: to see if they were his mate. And I? I could only watch in silence—his Luna in name, but never truly in heart. Because I knew there was nothing I could do to change his behavior. I had lost count of how many times I cried and begged him to stop—but still, every night, he brought different young she-wolves into our den. I once thought he'd eventually grow tired of it, that he would stop one day. Until he brought home three young she-wolves from the werewolf club. He paid far more than other alphas for their first night. Why? Because a witch told him that only sharing a night with more than two virgin she-wolves from the same bloodline could awaken his wolf's dormant sense—and help him find his true mate. I let out a bitter smile because what he didn't know was— The true mate he had searched for all these years… was me. But I would never return to him again. And by the time he finally found out the truth— It was already too late.

In the heart of a city ruled by chaos, Armando Romos stands as the ruthless leader of the Demented Devils MC. Known for his fierce loyalty and unyielding power, he thrives in a world where weakness is a sin. But everything changes when a sudden ambush leaves him bleeding in a park, a bullet wound signaling an unexpected turn in his tumultuous life. Maya Connor, a compassionate nurse seeking a moment of peace, stumbles upon Armando's crumpled form. Initially, Armando's pride and fierce independence resist her offer of help; he's a man used to being in control, not relying on anyone. Yet as the blood pools around him, desperation forces him to confront his mortality and the bitter betrayal that led him here. With no choice but to surrender to Maya's care, he discovers that she sees beyond the ink and anger etched on his skin. As she tends to his wounds, a spark ignites between them, bridging the divide between their worlds-a world of violence and a realm of healing. Caught between the violent loyalty of the Demented Devils and a burgeoning passion for the woman who saved him, Armando must face his past and make a choice: embrace the chance for redemption with Maya or be dragged back into the darkness that claims so many.

Embedded in the undying feud between the Monroe's and the Villalobos was the bitter memory of the past when the father of the 5th generation of coven, Don Honoracio Monroe died out of unknown disease. His loss brought them commotion when the Villalobos presented a young lady as the Don's other daughter. Doña Victoria never recognized such disrespect to the good memories of her late husband and so she deprived the young Villalobos of her rights for her inheritance... Since that night, the killing never ended. Each of them was forced to leave the grand lives they had in order to keep their safety. In fear of his new born child, Vico sent Victorina Aurora together with their most trusted servant away... Since then, the search for the Monroe's heiress gets on fire. The Monroe's most trusted man, Alezzandro Vizmanos from the werewolves tribe found her in her new name as Blythe Hernandez and identity as a waitress in Ekztatica club, working hard for her ill mother. It's her needs that made her sign his proposal with eyes closed. Zandro held her tight in his fingers just what the Monroe's wants him to do. But he opposed the plan when he kept Blythe away from them... Little did they know, Zandro has been keeping wrath for the death of his dear Cassidy. The servant who took care of Blythe, she died for the Monroe's yet they never recognized her loyalty. Every night, as he watches Blythe sleeping peacefully, Zandro was tempted to kill her. But as days passed by, he used to see from her eyes the spark from Cassy's eyes he once adored. Blythe's giving his heart wild beats. Will he still continue his plan of killing her or he'll rather kill his heart to stop pulsating insanely?